New PC

V-P

I have to get a new PC. I'm not sure if I want a laptop or a desktop yet. I'm still in high school so I don't do much traveling, but I'll be going to college in about 18 months, which is forever in computer terms. I'm leaning towards laptop just because I'm not a heavy gamer like I used to be. The problem I face here is that I get a lot more in desktops for the same price. I would still like to be able to play half-life 2 or fear occasionally. I'm not very up to date on laptops and I'm not sure they make any lappys that can handle these games that aren't over $2500.

If I get a desktop, I want:
Intel Core 2 Duo (I MIGHT settle for AMD equivalent but I'm pretty sure it's unmatched atm)
Atleast 1 GB DDR2 2GB if possible
ATI X1800XT or above or nVidia equivalent
HD-DVD capable
DVD+-RW burner
200+ GB HDD (I'd like whatever the newest technology is, which last time I heard it was SATA II but I know it's changed)
Monitor with HDMI/DVI 17' or above
Some other things....

In a laptop I want:
Intel Core 2 Duo
Dedicated card that can really pump some juice
Atleast 1 GB DDR
HD-DVD capability would be nice
DVD+-RW burner
100+ GB HDD
17' or more

Suggest some things I'll take a look. I would rather not go with Dell, gateway, etc. I like Asus, and those other companies that aren't very mainstream consumer-like.

Qeldroma

VIP-

Understand that this is advice- not gospel. I'm also pretty old-school, so take that with a grain of salt too. Get what fits you but ...

If it were me, I'd go desktop ... for two key reasons:

1. Desktops are much more flexible in their upgradeablility.

2. Desktops are less easily ripped ... and generally less expensive.

But lappys can be handy because of their mobility- I'd get one eventually, but I'd start with the rig.

Since you are a high schooler, I assume you don't have a lot of capital. A C2D system is nice, but can be pricey. However, if you can swing it, I think your general hardware is on the right track. Otherwise, AMD systems are lower priced.

muddocktor

V|P, to give you an idea of what a laptop that can game pretty well will cost and meets your specs, just look at what I ordered from Dell. I ordered an E1705 (17" 1920 X 1200 screen) with 2 GB of DDR2 667 ram, a Merom T7400, 100 GB 7200 rpm hard drive, DVD burner, 256 MB GeFporce Go 7900GS vid subsystem and bluetooth and with the 3 year total warantee/protection package it came to a little over $2300 delivered (including tax also). And if you want the capability to just watch HD-DVD or BlueRay you would need to spend a minimum of $350-800 more too.

My advice is to go with a desktop system for now. You can build a dual core AMD system for real cheap nowdays, with new DC AMD procs available for less then $70. And leaving out the benchmarks, the AMD DC system won't actually feel much slower than a C2D system. I have both AMD and C2D systems myself and for day to day operations there isn't much performance difference except when you get to doing something like ripping dvd's or something lese that is very processor intensive and even there it's not that much slower.